| Montreal, 3/05/2000 – The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) dismissed a Submission on Enforcement Matters that alleges failure on the part of Mexico to effectively enforce an air quality law with the result that the people of Cumpas, Sonora, Mexico, allege that they have been harmed by air pollution produced by the Molymex company. The submission (SEM-00-001), filed by Rosa María Escalante de Fernández, was dismissed, largely on grounds that it did not provide sufficient information.
Meanwhile, a second submission, that makes essentially the same allegations as the dismissed submission, has been filed with the CEC by the Academia Sonorense de Derechos Humanos, A.C. (the Sonoran Academy of Human Rights) and Mr. Domingo Gutiérrez Mendivil. The submission (SEM-00-005) asserts that Molymex, which produces molybdenum trioxide, allegedly violates Mexico's General Law on Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection (Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente-LGEEPA) regarding air quality. As a result, the submitters claim that the contaminants released by Molymex have caused irreversible damage to the health and environment of the Cumpas community.
Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) the CEC may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that NAAEC Article 14 criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that, with the agreement of the CEC Council, can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter.
The CEC was established under the NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States. |
